Sarah Jessica Parker

Exclusively for Enigma, we interviewed the ultimate 21st century independent female icon Sarah Jessica Parker, and asked her about style, shopping and of course…sex!

There’s been a lot of speculation about tensions between you and your Sex and the City co-stars. Is there any rivalry between you?

I love those women; I wouldn’t have wanted to do the Sex and The City movie with anyone else. We are family; there would be no reason to do it otherwise. I’m so proud of the work the other ladies have done, I think they’re marvellous.

There was a lot of speculation that you fell out with Kim Cattrall after she originally refused to sign up for the movie. What’s the truth?

Honestly, we are all friends and I wish I saw more of Kim. She mentioned money and no one should vilify her for it. People had made a decision that we had vilified her. No one bothered to ask us ‘Are you disappointed by not making the movie?’ Yes. ‘Do you respect and support her choice not to do it?’ Absolutely.

Why was the movie premiere held in London rather than New York, the place so heavily associated with the show?

This is where New Line Cinema decided to do it, so we started here. We were thrilled to be in London and we were thrilled to take it to America. If we had dared to dream what our world premiere would be like, this more than surpassed our wildest expectations. The spirit of the crowd, the great reception and how hospitable and how committed our fans were was wonderful.

Do you think you deserve the ‘fashion icon’ tag you’ve acquired since taking on the role of Carrie Bradshaw?

It does make me laugh when people call me a style icon. They should see me on a weekday. I’m more than capable of making big mistakes! They definitely have the wrong girl! I’d like to say I look great, but you guys see me only part of the time when I’m all dressed up at some glitzy event or other.

Why was the movie premiere held in London rather than New York, the place so heavily associated with the show?

This is where New Line Cinema decided to do it, so we started here. We were thrilled to be in London and we were thrilled to take it to America. If we had dared to dream what our world premiere would be like, this more than surpassed our wildest expectations. The spirit of the crowd, the great reception and how hospitable and how committed our fans were was wonderful.

Do you think you deserve the ‘fashion icon’ tag you’ve acquired since taking on the role of Carrie Bradshaw?

It does make me laugh when people call me a style icon. They should see me on a weekday. I’m more than capable of making big mistakes! They definitely have the wrong girl! I’d like to say I look great, but you guys see me only part of the time when I’m all dressed up at some glitzy event or other. That just isn’t my real life. For 70% of the time I’d say it was fair comment to say I look a bit of a mess.

Who is your style icon?

I’m absolutely obsessed with Kate Moss, she is my ultimate fashion icon. I think she’s absolutely amazing. I love the way she wears clothes and it’s always ‘her wearing them’ and not the other way round. I love that her hair looks like there’s not much effort involved to make it look good and I love the she wears super-skinny jeans with low, slouchy boots. I can tell she loves them because she has them in loads of colours. I know this because I always study pictures of her and I check out exactly what she’s wearing.

If I could come back and have anybody’s wardrobe it would be hers but you have to have the attitude to go with it. I’m just too old to wear the sort of things she does but it doesn’t stop me admiring her style.

Have you met her?

No. It’s got to the point now that I could never actually meet her because it would ruin the whole fantasy. If I work with a make-up artist or a stylist who has met her I ask them non-stop questions about her.

Because of your fashionista image, do you spend a lot of time shopping?

I love clothes and I go through fashion magazines marking the pages of clothes that I really, really want but never actually go out and buy. Since I had a baby I’d far rather spend any spare time I have with my son than go out shopping for clothes.

There are so many clothes I want, like anything by Charles Albert for Lanvin and anything from the Balenciaga collection. I also love the gorgeous tailoring from Alexander McQueen, who is becoming more of a genius by the day.

I also want more gold cuffs, some great Fendi bags and anything Nicolas Ghesquière has done. And of course I want shoes, shoes and more shoes because I’m totally obsessed by shoes and purses and they are always the things I build a wardrobe around.

Have you met her?

No. It’s got to the point now that I could never actually meet her because it would ruin the whole fantasy. If I work with a make-up artist or a stylist who has met her I ask them non-stop questions about her.

Because of your fashionista image, do you spend a lot of time shopping?

I love clothes and I go through fashion magazines marking the pages of clothes that I really, really want but never actually go out and buy. Since I had a baby I’d far rather spend any spare time I have with my son than go out shopping for clothes.

There are so many clothes I want, like anything by Charles Albert for Lanvin and anything from the Balenciaga collection. I also love the gorgeous tailoring from Alexander McQueen, who is becoming more of a genius by the day.

I also want more gold cuffs, some great Fendi bags and anything Nicolas Ghesquière has done. And of course I want shoes, shoes and more shoes because I’m totally obsessed by shoes and purses and they are always the things I build a wardrobe around.

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I don’t have 1,000 pairs of shoes but I have a lot and I do want more. I’m completely in love with Pierre Hardy’s shoes. I’ve got a pair on right now.

What are your other favourite buys?

The other thing I can never get enough of is vintage…But so much of this is what I want for the woman I think I should be, but the woman I really am is sadly going less and less to the shops.

What do you think is a big style faux pas?

Tanning. I look at my skin and I think, ‘Why didn’t I ever listen?’ I used to think I looked so much healthier with a tan but I was just completely damaging my skin. I can’t stand fake tan – people don’t stop until they go orange.

You were once voted the least sexy woman alive. Are you happy with your appearance?

I am happy being me. I think I’m amazingly lucky but if I could change anything about myself it would be my figure. I absolutely hate being this thin. It drives me mad that the fashion right now is to be so super skinny and girls are disappearing in front of my eyes. I don’t think it looks so great. Being thin can make you look haggard. When I drop a few pounds I look tired, old and awful and it’s not nice when you have no clothes on. Who wants to be with a bag of bones?

Which celebrities do you think look good?

For me, sexy is always voluptuous. I’d love to have a body like Scarlett Johanssen or Elizabeth Taylor. I’m always trying to gain weight but I have a body shape exactly like my mother who only actually started to put on a bit of flesh after she’d had eight children – so I guess I’ve got some way to go!

Are you planning on having more children?

I’d so love another baby. It’s what I want more than anything. So yes I guess I’m just sort of waiting.

How did you feel when you first became a mum (to son James Wilkie with husband Matthew Broderick in 2002)?

I never felt so lovely or so confident about my body or myself than when I was pregnant. Being a mother is an amazing experience. Nothing comes close to the emotions you feel. I’m such a baby about the whole thing. I make my husband tell me about when James was born. I make him run through the whole hospital experience, the birth and what we did afterwards. I remember the obstetrician telling us to go home, take the phone off the hook, lock the door and just spend time with our baby which was what we did. It was such an incredible time. Nothing else in my life has come close.

Did you feel pressure to lose the baby weight straight away?

I hate the fact that now pregnant women are expected to get straight back into shape after having had their babies. It’s just mad. It’s wonderful that Victoria Beckham can lose weight so quickly but then she has the money and the privilege to pay for a nanny to look after her baby and a trainer to look after her.

What is expected of celebrities shouldn’t be expected of everybody. No disrespect to Victoria, but it’s just not real. We’ve all gotten so unrealistic, the average woman has to work, bring up kids, clean their own houses and run their own life, but on top of this there is this expectation to be perfect, glamorous and thinner than thin.

After 10 years of marriage, have your feelings toward Matthew changed at all?

This morning I was staring at him as he was walking around the bedroom. He looked so beautiful and so young. He’s got one of those faces like Paul McCartney that just never seems to age – except his is even more so than Paul McCartney’s. I kept telling him how handsome he is. He hates that. I say it to him all the time and he gets really embarrassed. You know my husband has the most amazing skin, it’s like my son’s; all fresh, perfect and sort of doughy. It’s so annoying because he never washes his face or uses any skin care product and I religiously do all those things and then I see him and he looks so amazing!

Does he return the compliment?

He’s a bit stricter about telling me I look lovely. He says it a lot less but then I guess it means so much more than when I say it all the time.

How does your relationship with Matthew compare with Carrie and Mr. Big’s?

Carrie defied convention in her relationship with Big and they are a very modern couple – much more modern than I am. I can’t handle that kind of disappointment, I don’t like being thrown a bone every now and then. They have made choices about how they want to live their life. But in her desire to be the person she thinks she wants to be, she is denying this involuntary DNA about a big dress and a big wedding.

What will you do next? Are there any plans for a movie sequel?

We haven’t discussed a sequel. I would be honoured to star in a play in London. It just hasn’t worked out scheduling wise, but I would love to. It’s sort of a destination point for an actor, isn’t it!